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As King Tides crash up against San Diego businesses and cause coastal flooding, scientists say these scenes could become much more common in the future. NBC 7's Greg Bledsoe. (Published Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015)

As King Tides crash up against San Diego businesses and cause coastal flooding, scientists say these scenes could become much more common in the future.

“There’s no doubt the sea level is rising,” said Dr. Roger Hewitt, a director at NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center.

The highest of them could cause flooding in places we haven’t seen yet.

“We know the sea level is going to rise. We know the sea level has already risen. So the effect of these extra high tides is going to be more pronounced,” said Hewitt. “So obviously we need to put more time or effort into protecting the portions of the shoreline that are most vulnerable."

Sarah Mattinson, the owner of Olive Café and Bakery, is already bracing for a bad winter. Her restaurant sits on Santa Clara Place in Mission Beach – a street known for flooding as high tides and storms collide.

The pump station near her business kicked on automatically Wednesday to hold the King Tides at bay, but she remembers and dreads repeating the strong El Nino of the late 1990s.